Thomas had never really thought much about magic .After all he was just a normal eight year old boy, obsessed with animals and football, teasing his twin sister mercilessly and all those things kids should be. His knowledge of that magic stuff stretched too, well not very far. The tooth fairy sometimes left money under the pillow and on Halloween he dressed up like a vampire or a ghost or whatever. But the day he met her everything changed.
She'd been sitting by the old oak tree, his tree, the one behind the orchard right on the outskirts of the village. Not even Ellie knew about that place and she was his twin, they shared everything. But not the tree, the tree was his, his place to read and play and watch the world go by. And yet here was the girl singing to her self as she sat underneath the branches making daisy chains of all things – what a girl he thought.
And so with all the pride an eight year old can muster he walked right up to her and said "What are you doing". The girl looked up and Thomas was surprised to see that she was smiling. Her lips, which were just the colour of rose petals he thought, were upturned and the look on her face spread all the way up to her big green eyes, like the grass on a midsummer's day. Her hair was like sunshine too, gold and brown and coppery red all at once in two fly a way plaits falling softly around her face and to her waist. She was pretty, he realized , in a picture book sort of way like a princess or fairy or …
"Well magic of course" she said and pointed to the scattered leaves and flowers in her lap there were animals there too , little birds twittering at her feet and field mice in her pockets . How strange.
"Don't be silly" Thomas scoffed. "Magic isn't real" The girl narrowed her eyes. "Yes it is. I should know I'm a witch". This time Thomas laughed. "No your not, your just a little girl and besides witches don't exist it's not Halloween you know". The girl frowned and for a moment looked so fierce that Thomas had to step back but then her glare faltered "I suppose you wouldn't understand . What are you anyway, what part of night world? Lamia, werewolf, shape shifter? I know you can't be Fae".
Thomas was confused. What did these words mean? She must be playing a game he thought so merely shook his head "I'm a boy". She sighed in a way that said too clearly what she though of this inferior sex. "Well if your not going to say … I know you can help me!" and she grabbed his hands pulling him to the floor beside her.
"W..w..wait he yelled "but I don't want …" . He stopped and saw the expression now on her face. Her lip quivered her eyes looked very, very wet, was she, no she wouldn't?
"Please" she said "you've got to help me, I need someone else, I tried the animals but they didn't know what to do". Thomas met her gaze his own stormy blue eyes staring right back into her bright ones and suddenly he felt something very strange. It was if someone had spun him round and round until he felt so dizzy that he couldn't move straight, he felt so heavy like he was being dragged , propelled towards something and yet no one was pushing. His skin was hot and sparked like an electric shock but he shivered and didn't know quite what to do. But of one thing he was sure. He needed to stay.
"All right" he said "I'll help you, but first maybe you could tell me your name?" She nodded and wiped her tears away on the sleeve of her blue cardigan that was covering the simple white dress she wore. "I'm Evangeline Cresentwood and I'm six, and you?"
"I'm Tom Knights and you've got a very long name for someone so small". Evangeline puffed out her chest "HMF well what do you expect I am a descendant of Hellewise" "And what's that supposed to mean?" Tom asked. Evangeline paused "You know I really don't know but it's what the elders say every time someone says something mean to them." She looked thoughtful and then "so you'll help me then with my spell, I really do need you" she blinked at him and Tom had that feeling all over again "Sure. But what exactly are we magicing?"He grinned at her enjoying the fun of the game she looked so determined though , this was just pretend wasn't it, but then she'd looked so upset …
"We're doing a protection spell" she whispered "to magic away the bad people" "What bad people" said Tom, sounding very young and kind of suspicious. Her voice got even quieter "The ones that come at night, the ones who do not creep but shout and stamp and take my family away. They took Jemina and that boy Charlie and then Uncle Davis and Mummy says I can't see them again and whenever I ask her she cries and tells me not to talk about it". There were tears swimming in her eyes again and Tom, for probably the first time in his life, was scared, not just worried but terrified and not for himself but for her, Evangeline. He found himself holding her hand tight. "It's ok Evie" he said softly "we'll make magic and they'll never come again 'kay?".
Evie nodded and smiled, no one had ever given her a nickname before and she found she liked it; she liked this boy strange though he may be with considerable lack of any obvious powers and to think he hadn't even heard of Night world. She could feel nothing from him but for him she felt this sort of, well she couldn't describe but it was like ocean waves powerful and strong and nothing like she'd ever felt before.
Evie sat with him a while telling him all about the spell and it's ingredients and stuff Tom didn't understand much but he loved hearing those words on her lips they sounded beautiful and unusual all at the same time. Then Evie put the animals that still lingered to one side and told them that it was ok to go now so they did. Then Tom watched astonished as Evie pulled something from a drawstring bag and touched a red stone to the ground, whispering more unknown words, until flames sprang up from the ground. "But fires dangerous" he began but she gave him a look and just giggled "No it's not, it's just proud you just need to respect her, now for the spell" she began "and then the mean people will go away" .Tom watched as she took a deep breath and sprinkled wild white flowers onto the flame, he wasn't quite sure what it was meant to do but all at once the flames erupted swirling higher and changed from red to a vivid blue. It startled him, this game was turning rapidly into reality and he wasn't sure what to do. Surely Evie was just … well she couldn't really be one of thosecould she? She clutched at his hands and took a huge breath to speak , looking all of a sudden very powerful for one so small, but then she paused and looked at him anxiously "Did you feel that" she asked as a drop of water landed on her nose. Tom hoped that she wasn't crying again but he soon realized where the water was coming from, not from Evie but from the sky which moments ago had been a lazy blue but was now grey and clustered with clouds. The droplets fell heavy as the blur above roared Tom flinched at the sound but Evie remained still watching as with in moments the fire was doused. She looked sad. "I don't think we can do it now" she wailed softly "I don't know how to make fire waterproof" and she bit her lip. Her face was pale and she just looked helpless. Tom stood and pulled her too her feet. "We need to be going, look you're already soaked your gunna catch a cold". He looked up at the darkening clouds and wasn't sure whether to be thankful or not. That, that whole spell thing had just been slightly weird, and he wasn't even sure if it was safe. The way she'd spoken, those words, the way the flames had changed colour, the way those animals seemed to listen to her, it must just be a trick he told himself of the mind or light .But Tom knew he was kidding himself. It was real far too real and he was scared. But most of all he couldn't bare that look in Evie's eyes like her whole life was shattering before her eyes.
He pulled her some more until she finally she turned to him "It's ok Evie we can come always come back tomorrow?" Somehow tom that this was just what he needed to say and she was glad when she nodded. "Look" he continued "We'll go home now but we'll go to yours first and then tomorrow we can meet here again yes?" And maybe try to do something normal Tom said to himself and then felt bad , it wasn't her fault she was a little strange in fact he liked her that way . She was so different from all the other children he knew especially Ellie. Ellie, what on earth would she way when he told her about his afternoon?
They walked the rest of the way home talking about normal things really like pets and family and colours and school (she didn't go at the moment but was home schooled) but when they reached the cottage that Evie called home Tom felt uneasy again. It was small way away from the rest of the village and that was probably why he'd never seen this girl before. It wasn't just the location though; it was odd unlike any house he'd ever seen before. From every ledge hung charms, jewels and leaves and on the walls scouring the cottage was ivy and roses. Animals seemed to lead the way to the house; frogs and rabbits a few cats hiding under bushes from the rain, a black and white collie tied loosely to the porch. It was all so busy and yet neat at the same time. Odd. Yes odd that word seemed to some up Evangeline very well indeed. Odd yet perfect?
"We need to say goodbye now" Evie said looking up at him "I'll see you tomorrow then" Tom replied and turned to go away. "Wait!" She said and grabbed his arm. "Yes" "I … just wanted to say thank you" and with that she leant up standing on the very tips of her toes and kissed his cheek. And with that Thomas turned and ran all the way home.
He flung open his front door and ran straight into his twin sister who coincidentally looked just as excited. "You'll never guess what" He began but then was stopped when he heard his sister say "Tommy isn't amazing, Daddy's just told mummy and me, we're moving to live with Gran!" And at that any recollection of what he was about to say simply flew out of his head. Moving to Grandma's. But Grandma lived in America and from what little he knew of the world Thomas knew that America was very far away, very far away from England. Very far away from Evangeline Cresentwood the strange little girl that had somehow in the space a few hours simply taken over his eight year old life. But that was the soul mate principle for you.